SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Senior Kurdish officials met with a U.S. government delegation led by White House Coordinator for Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk in Erbil on Wednesday.
The U.S. delegation also included U.S. State Department Counselor Derek Chollet, Acting Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Joey Hood and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East Dana Stroul.
The delegation held talks with Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani following its arrival to the Region.
The Kurdish prime minister said they discussed the Strategic Dialogue between Iraq and the United States during the meeting.
“Great to see friends from the US administration @derekchollet, @brett_mcgurk, and others. We welcomed the strength of the US-Kurdistan relationship, discussed the US-Iraq Strategic Dialogue, and committed to greater efforts towards regional peace and stability,” Barzani said in a tweet.
The U.S. officials also met with Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani at his headquarters in Erbil.
The delegation arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday and met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and President Barham Salih.
Kadhimi and the U.S. delegation discussed coordination and joint cooperation in varies fields, the prime minister’s office said in a statement.
“Emphasis was placed on activating the outcomes of the strategic dialogue between Iraq and the United States, especially with regard to the withdrawal of combat forces from Iraq,” Kadhimi’s office added.
